Provided are a method, computer program product and system for network multi-pathing. Paths to a storage system are through a first network type and a second network type. The first network type has a higher Input/Output (I/O) per second performance characteristic than the second network type. A length is determined from a received I/O request. The I/O request is sent on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is below a threshold length. The I/O request is sent on one of the paths to the storage system through the second network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above the threshold length.
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1. A method for network multi-pathing, comprising: maintaining paths to a storage system through a first network type and a second network type, wherein the first network type has a higher Input/Output (I/O) per second performance characteristic than the second network type; receiving an I/O request; determining a length of the I/O request: determining a total length of a plurality of I/O requests; and sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above a threshold length and in response to determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than a threshold bandwidth.
A method for managing data transfer paths to a storage system involves maintaining two types of network connections: a faster network (higher I/O per second) and a slower network. When a request to read or write data (I/O request) is received, its size is determined. Additionally, the total size of recent I/O requests is monitored. If the individual request is considered large, AND the recent total data transfer is below a bandwidth limit, the request is sent through the faster network.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first network type is a Fibre Channel (FC) SAN, and the second network type is one of an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) based SAN or a FC SAN having a lower bandwidth than the first network type.
The data transfer method from the previous description specifies that the faster network is a Fibre Channel (FC) SAN. The slower network is either an Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) based SAN or an FC SAN with lower bandwidth than the faster FC SAN. This setup intelligently routes data traffic based on network types and speeds.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first network type has a first bandwidth, and the second network type has a second bandwidth which is lower than the first bandwidth.
The data transfer method from the first description uses networks with different bandwidths. The faster network has a higher bandwidth, while the slower network has a lower bandwidth. The system intelligently switches between these networks to optimize data transfer.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is below the threshold length.
In addition to the logic in the first description, if a received I/O request is small (its length is below a defined threshold), it will be sent through the faster network. This ensures that smaller requests benefit from the higher speed, regardless of overall network bandwidth usage.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the second network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above the threshold length and in response to determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than the threshold bandwidth.
In addition to the logic in the first description, if the received I/O request is large (its length is above a defined threshold) AND the overall bandwidth usage of recent requests is low (total length of recent I/O requests is less than a bandwidth threshold), the I/O request will be sent to the storage system via the slower network type.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the sending of the I/O request on one of the paths through a selected first or second network type through which the I/O request is to be sent comprises: determining whether there are multiple networks of the selected first or second network type; selecting a single available network of the selected first or second network type in response to determining that there are not multiple networks of the of the selected first or second network type; and applying load balancing to select networks of the selected first or second network type in response to determining that there are multiple networks of the of the selected first or second network type.
When sending an I/O request through either the faster or slower network (as described in the fifth description), the system first checks if there are multiple networks of that type available. If only one network of that type exists, it is selected. If multiple networks of that type exist, a load balancing algorithm is used to distribute the I/O requests across the available networks to optimize performance.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than the threshold bandwidth comprises determining whether the total length of the plurality of I/O requests in a last given time period is below the threshold bandwidth.
To determine if overall bandwidth usage is below a threshold (as described in the first description), the system examines the total size of all I/O requests made within a specific recent time period. If the total data transferred during that time is below the defined bandwidth threshold, the system considers the network bandwidth usage to be low.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: tuning the threshold bandwidth and the last given time period to an available bandwidth of the second network type.
Building upon the seventh description, the bandwidth threshold and the length of the recent time period are configurable and automatically adjusted based on the available bandwidth of the slower network. This tuning process adapts the system to the characteristics of the slower network, optimizing its usage.
9. A computer program product comprising code implemented in a computer readable storage device for sending Input/Output (I/O) requests to a storage system over a network, wherein the code is executed to perform operations, the operations comprising: maintaining paths to a storage system through a first network type and a second network type, wherein the first network type has a higher Input/Output (I/O) per second performance characteristic than the second network type; receiving an I/O request; determining a length of the I/O request: determining a total length of a plurality of I/O requests; and sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above a threshold length and in response to determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than a threshold bandwidth.
A computer program, stored on a computer-readable device, manages data transfer paths to a storage system. The program maintains paths to a storage system through a faster network (higher I/O per second) and a slower network. When the program receives a request to read or write data (I/O request), its size is determined. The program also monitors the total size of recent I/O requests. If the request is considered large, AND the recent total data transfer is below a bandwidth limit, the request is sent through the faster network.
10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the first network type has a first bandwidth, and the second network type has a second bandwidth which is lower than the first bandwidth.
The computer program from the previous description uses networks with different bandwidths. The faster network has a higher bandwidth, while the slower network has a lower bandwidth. The system intelligently switches between these networks to optimize data transfer.
11. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise: sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is below the threshold length.
In addition to the logic described in the ninth description, the computer program sends the I/O request to the storage system via the faster network if the request is small (length below a defined threshold). This ensures that smaller requests always benefit from the higher speed network, regardless of overall network bandwidth usage.
12. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise: sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the second network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above the threshold length and in response to determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than the threshold bandwidth.
In addition to the logic in the ninth description, if the received I/O request is large (its length is above a defined threshold) AND the overall bandwidth usage of recent requests is low (total length of recent I/O requests is less than a bandwidth threshold), the computer program sends the I/O request to the storage system via the slower network type.
13. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the sending of the I/O request on one of the paths through a selected first or second network type through which the I/O request is to be sent comprises: determining whether there are multiple networks of the selected first or second network type; selecting a single available network of the selected first or second network type in response to determining that there are not multiple networks of the of the selected first or second network type; and applying load balancing to select networks of the selected first or second network type in response to determining that there are multiple networks of the of the selected first or second network type.
When sending an I/O request through either the faster or slower network (as described in the twelfth description), the computer program first checks if there are multiple networks of that type available. If only one network of that type exists, it is selected. If multiple networks of that type exist, a load balancing algorithm is used to distribute the I/O requests across the available networks to optimize performance.
14. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than the threshold bandwidth comprises determining whether the total length of the plurality of I/O requests in a last given time period is below the threshold bandwidth.
To determine if overall bandwidth usage is below a threshold (as described in the ninth description), the computer program examines the total size of all I/O requests made within a specific recent time period. If the total data transferred during that time is below the defined bandwidth threshold, the system considers the network bandwidth usage to be low.
15. A system for managing paths to a storage system through a network, comprising: a processor; and a computer readable storage medium having code executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: maintaining paths to a storage system through a first network type and a second network type, wherein the first network type has a higher Input/Output (I/O) per second performance characteristic than the second network type; receiving an I/O request; determining a length of the I/O request: determining a total length of a plurality of I/O requests; and sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above a threshold length and in response to determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than a threshold bandwidth.
A system for managing data transfer paths to a storage system includes a processor and a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium contains code, executed by the processor, to maintain paths to a storage system through a faster network (higher I/O per second) and a slower network. When a request to read or write data (I/O request) is received, its size is determined. The system also monitors the total size of recent I/O requests. If the request is considered large, AND the recent total data transfer is below a bandwidth limit, the request is sent through the faster network.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first network type has a first bandwidth, and the second network type has a second bandwidth which is lower than the first bandwidth.
The data transfer system from the previous description uses networks with different bandwidths. The faster network has a higher bandwidth, while the slower network has a lower bandwidth. The system intelligently switches between these networks to optimize data transfer.
17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the first network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is below the threshold length.
In addition to the logic in the fifteenth description, the system sends the I/O request to the storage system via the faster network if the request is small (length below a defined threshold). This ensures that smaller requests always benefit from the higher speed network, regardless of overall network bandwidth usage.
18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: sending the I/O request on one of the paths to the storage system through the second network type in response to determining that the length of the I/O request is above the threshold length and in response to determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than the threshold bandwidth.
In addition to the logic in the fifteenth description, if the received I/O request is large (its length is above a defined threshold) AND the overall bandwidth usage of recent requests is low (total length of recent I/O requests is less than a bandwidth threshold), the system sends the I/O request to the storage system via the slower network type.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the sending of the I/O request on one of the paths through a selected first or second network type through which the I/O request is to be sent comprises: determining whether there are multiple networks of the selected first or second network type; selecting a single available network of the selected first or second network type in response to determining that there are not multiple networks of the of the selected first or second network type; and applying load balancing to select networks of the selected first or second network type in response to determining that there are multiple networks of the of the selected first or second network type.
When sending an I/O request through either the faster or slower network (as described in the eighteenth description), the system first checks if there are multiple networks of that type available. If only one network of that type exists, it is selected. If multiple networks of that type exist, a load balancing algorithm is used to distribute the I/O requests across the available networks to optimize performance.
20. The system of claim 15 , wherein determining that the total length of the plurality of I/O requests is less than the threshold bandwidth comprises determining whether the total length of the plurality of I/O requests in a last given time period is below the threshold bandwidth.
To determine if overall bandwidth usage is below a threshold (as described in the fifteenth description), the system examines the total size of all I/O requests made within a specific recent time period. If the total data transferred during that time is below the defined bandwidth threshold, the system considers the network bandwidth usage to be low.
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May 23, 2014
April 11, 2017
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